Sports Blog 27/11/2015: Match Preview – Premier League, Saturday 28th to Sunday 29th November 2015

After a busy week in Europe focus returns to domestic matters this weekend, including one of the least likely 1st vs 2nd place matches in the Premier League’s recent history.

That match is, of course, league leaders (!!!) Leicester versus Manchester United, at 5.30pm on Saturday on Sky Sports 1. Against the odds the Foxes sit atop the Premier League, their victory over Newcastle last weekend extending their winning run to 4 games. Powered by the 13 goals in 13 games of Jamie Vardy, aiming to score in his 11th successive match on Saturday, Leicester’s achievement, although undeniably remarkable, nevertheless does come with some caveats. Whilst they are unbeaten since their heavy 5-2 home loss to Arsenal, that run was against sides by and large in the bottom half of the table. And whilst Leicester may be the top scoring side in the league with 28 goals, one more than the money-bags front-line of Man City, they have also conceded more than any other side in the top 5 by a good 7 goals.



Not that the latter point should matter if Man United continue to play the way they have been of late. A 0-0 draw against PSV Eindhoven during the week sees United’s place in the Champions League hanging by a thread AND marks their 4th goalless game in 7 matches. Yet unbeaten in the league since early October Louis van Gaal’s side, for all their ineffectualness up front, still find themselves in 2nd place, with a chance to go top with a victory on Saturday evening. Even the goal vacuum that is Wayne Rooney should be able to find a weak link in Leicester’s lacklustre back 4, meaning our Spreadex traders fancy an away win, offering a Manchester United/Leicester (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.15-0.35 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.45-2.65.

Sunday then sees a London derby that is equally unusual in the position of its teams, with a 5th place Tottenham hosting a 15th place Chelsea at 12pm on BT Sport 1. Securing a spot in the Europa League last 32 with a 1-0 away win against Qarabag, Tottenham are unbeaten in 6 games; in fact, Spurs haven’t lost a league game since their opener against Manchester United, leaving them knocking on the door of the top 4. Since Harry Kane, who got the winner in Azerbaijan with his 10th goal of 2015/16, got over his start of the season jitters Spurs have looked vastly improved, and Mauricio Pochettino will fancy his side on Sunday against a Chelsea side only just beginning to recover from their cataclysmic slump.



Not that Mourinho and his men are out of the woods yet. Two victories in a row may be a luxury for Chelsea at the moment, but a) Norwich and Maccabi Tel-Aviv are hardly the most difficult of opponents and b) it still leaves them languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League and needing at least a draw against Dynamo Kiev in their final Champions League game. A victory on Sunday would be more of a sign that the Blues can maintain their embryonic good form, though our Spreadex traders aren’t exactly convinced they can manage it, offering a Tottenham/Chelsea Goal Supremacy spread of 0-0.2 with a Total Goals spread of 2.6-2.8.

Sunday’s second game sees West Ham host West Brom at 2.05pm on Sky Sports 1. Despite still sitting in 6th West Ham’s strong start to the season has stuttered in their past 3 games. A 1-1 draw against Everton is nothing to be sniffed at; however, a 2-0 loss at Watford should have been completely avoidable, whilst a 4-1 hammering at White Hart Lane suggested a worrying gap between the Hammers and those sides that sit above them. Yet Sunday’s game is winnable for West Ham, and Slaven Bilic will be keen to nab another 3 points in order to continue his push for a place in Europe.



If West Ham have just began to falter, then West Brom continue to frustrate and flounder. Last weekend’s win against Arsenal was well earned, and puts some distance between the Baggies and a relegation battle that they could still feasibly be dragged into. Yet that was the first result West Brom have really managed against top 10 competition, their victories by and large coming against those below them. Confidence from their win over the Gunners and West Ham’s current lack of form could see the Baggies get something on Sunday; however, our traders still fancy the home side, offering a West Ham/West Brom Goal Supremacy spread of 0.35-0.55 with a Total Goals spread of 2.3-2.5.

Finally Sunday evening sees a slightly more classic top vs bottom tie, as Arsenal travel to Norwich at 4.15pm on Sky Sports 1. A vital 3-0 win against Dinamo Zagreb, with an exhilarating performance by Alexis Sanchez (who by the laws of nature and conventional logic should be unable to move, yet instead only seems to be upping his intensity), not only keeps Arsenal in the Champions League (just) but was an immediate rebound from last weekend’s disappointing defeat to West Brom. If the Gunners are to keep up a title push then they need to capitalise on a slightly easier Christmas run-in than their rivals, something that includes taking all 3 points from sides like Norwich.



The Canaries haven’t had the best time of it since they returned to the Premier League. 3 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses is relegation-teasing form, and Norwich are realistically only not closer to the red zone because of the continual capitulations of the likes of Aston Villa and Sunderland. To be fair to the East Anglian side they were unlucky to get anything against Chelsea last weekend, only a single goal separating the promotees and the (barely)defending champions. Yet Arsene Wenger will be adamant not to repeat the mistakes his side made against West Brom, and there could be an uncomfortable afternoon in store for Alex Neil, with Spreadex offering an Arsenal/Norwich (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.9-1.1 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.9-3.1.